Jenson Button scored points for the fourth race in succession, putting a contract row with Williams on hold to take fifth for BAR-Honda.

David Coulthard's first-lap retirement meant Button was the only Briton to see the chequered flag.

Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber had to fight their way through the field from lowly starting positions to give Williams sixth and seventh places respectively. Takuma Sato was eighth fro BAR.

The race began in dramatic fashion as the pack hurtled towards the first corner. In the fight for position, Christian Klien came off worst and rolled his Red Bull into retirement after hitting Felipe Massa's Sauber.

Alonso also suffered a start to forget, smashing his front wing in a clash with Ralf Schumacher at the turn one melee. That forced a pit stop but had more serious consequences for Coulthard.

The Scotsman ran over the debris and shattered his suspension, pitching him immediately into retirement to mark a nightmare first lap for Red Bull.

Schumacher pressure

Rubens Barrichello also destroyed his front wing and joined Alonso in pitting for a replacement.

Schumacher led the early stages and saw off Raikkonen's threat in the first round of pit stops. Juan Pablo Montoya, on a different strategy pitted much later than Schumacher and Raikkonen but even though that allowed him to make up ground, he still emerged just behind the pair.

Raikkonen was putting Schumacher under enormous pressure and he capitalised on his superior pace at the second round of pit stops.

Schumacher pitted on lap 36 and when Raikkonen stopped a lap later, the McLaren driver returned to the track in the front, although Montoya's alternative strategy kept him in the lead.

The Colombian never got the opportunity to put his strategy to the test as his victory bid was ended on lap 41 when the McLaren suddenly lost power, forcing him to coast into the pits and retire.

That left Raikkonen looking at a comfortable victory, with a 17-second cushion over Schumacher, who in turn was under no pressure from his third-placed brother Ralf.

Massa's race ended in a cloud of smoke in pit lane on lap 44. Smoke spewed from the rear of his Sauber during a routine stop, forcing the Brazilian to call it a day. Team-mate Jacques Villeneuve also retired with a smoking car on lap 59.

At the front Raikkonen was running away with the race and Schumacher had no answer, eventually trailing home 35.5 seconds behind the Finn.